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Japa Dog: Japanese Style Hot Dogs Sold on the Street in Vancouver

I may have spoken harshly a little too soon on CBC recently regarding “lame hot dog stands” being the only street meat in Vancouver. On a late night walk recently, Andrea and I discovered an innocuous hot dog vendor on Burrard Street selling JAPANESE STYLE HOT DOGS! They call themselves Japa Dog (clever, no?).

You heard me, hot dogs made the Japanese way by an adorable short Japanese man and his friendly assistants. The “Terimayo” dog consists of an all beef wiener covered with seaweed, fried onions, Japanese mayo and teriyaki sauce. And the “Oroshi” dog is a pork bratwurst smothered in green onions, Japanese oroshi daikon and special soy sauce.

Both of these delightful concoctions are available as veggie dogs, but I stand behind my previous statement that all vegetarians should be thrown in jail. :-)

Did I mention that these are the BEST hot dogs I’ve ever tasted? Gourmet street food with an ethnic twist that even the evil bastards at Vancouver City Hall can’t shut down! Let’s hope this is a trend that continues.

UPDATE: Apparently Japa Dog now has their own website at www.japadog.com which welcomes visitors with the adorable and honest greeting “Our English is very poor. The followings may make mistakes. We are sorry.” Who cares if they speak English—they speak food!!

I live half a block away from that dude and besides the fact that I’ve ALWAYS wanted to buy a veggie dog off the street but never have… well, fuck, aren’t I lame for never have taken the jump especially when it’s Japanese and they certainly do know what’s up! Thanks! I’m totally getting a seaweed dog tomorrow.